Chapter 147: The Already Dead

Within the shadow realm of black and white, blood-red sludge continuously surged forth from the swirling black mist, writhing as if it were alive. It flowed endlessly from the fog, yet seemed to vanish into thin air before ever spreading beyond the dark haze. These viscous, repulsive masses resembled some grotesque, unsettling soft-bodied creatures, and as they churned, they emitted a disturbing, murky gurgling sound. At first, Gawain thought it was just the natural noise of the sludge bubbling, but soon he discerned faint whispers beneath the gurgling—like murmurs from someone dreaming. No one could extract any coherent meaning from these profane, chaotic whispers; they only stirred fear, irritation, hallucinations, and unease.

Not only Gawain, but even Amber had never seen anything so bizarre in the shadow realm. The sludge clearly corresponded to where the original cultivation vessels had been, but these blood-colored masses defied the usual “reflection” rules of the shadow realm’s mirroring of the real world. Rather than being a mere reflection, it seemed more like a twisted, unnatural entity that had taken the place of something that should have been there.

Gawain looked at the sludge with instinctive disgust, then glanced back at Amber. “What the hell is this…? Is this what scared you?”

He found it strange. Though the sludge gave off a deeply unpleasant vibe, and the incessant whispering was maddening, and some strange force kept trying to flood his mind with terrifying visions, these things only gave Gawain a mild thrill—like watching horror movies late at night in a past life. They didn’t truly unsettle him. Amber, on the other hand, was fearless—she’d even dared to dig through ancient graves during the magical cataclysm. It was plausible she might be startled by these sludges, but to be so terrified she lost her composure? That didn’t add up.

Amber looked a little shaken, glancing nervously at the sludge. “Y-yeah… but just one look at those things made my head feel like it was going to explode. It was terrifying—just thinking about them brings on waves of hallucinations. But now… I don’t know why… they still look disgusting, but I don’t feel like I’m under some kind of mental attack anymore.”

“Really?” Gawain looked at Amber, then frowned at the sludge. He gripped the Pathfinder’s Sword tightly and cautiously stepped toward the source of the sludge.

A gut feeling told him that the bizarre “mutated amalgamation” monster outside, with its unnaturally strong vitality, was probably connected to this sludge in the shadow realm. If he didn’t deal with this sludge, the investigation here would never proceed smoothly.

Amber watched nervously as Gawain advanced, sweating nervously. In the face of such otherworldly abominations, raw combat power wasn’t always reliable—but then, to her astonishment, she widened her eyes.

As Gawain took step after step forward, the blood-red sludge began to retreat—slowly at first, but unmistakably.

At first, it wasn’t obvious, but after a few steps, the sludge that had been spreading in all directions suddenly caved in, forming a large hollow. It was so clear that anyone would notice.

Gawain himself was stunned. He took another step forward, and the sludge retreated another step. He stopped decisively, and the sludge halted as well, writhing slowly in place.

“What’s going on?” Amber’s voice came from behind, full of surprise. “These things… seem afraid of you?”

“Afraid isn’t quite right. It’s more like some kind of instinctive biological reflex,” Gawain frowned, unable to understand why the sludge recoiled before him, but it didn’t stop him from moving forward. “Well, that saves me a lot of trouble.”

The sludge finally withdrew completely into the black mist. As Gawain pressed on, even the dark fog began to contract and shift, revealing a gap. Through it, Gawain immediately saw neatly arranged runes on the ground and faintly glowing magical crystals.

A magic array? Not a reflection of a real-world array, but one actually constructed here in the shadow realm?!

Could this be the work of the ancient Gondor mages?

Gawain was momentarily stunned, but on reflection, it wasn’t so unbelievable. The magic technology of the Gondor Empire far surpassed that of the present day. Their unique human magical system was even admired by elves. Although they didn’t understand the true nature of the shadow realm, powerful mages of that era certainly had the ability to enter it.

Amber stood far from the blood-red sludge, waving her hands and shouting after Gawain, who hadn’t moved for a while. “What did you find?”

“A magic array, built on this side,” Gawain replied without looking up. “It seems this experimental facility was constructed in two parts. The real-world equipment is only one part; the other is built here in the shadow realm…”

Amber was amazed. “Wow! People back then were incredible. They could even enter the shadow realm?”

“The people of that era were beyond what you can imagine,” Gawain said casually, stepping into the black mist and searching for the core of the magic array. As the fog receded, the complex and massive array gradually came into full view.

Using his decent theoretical knowledge, Gawain quickly realized this array was very different from conventional magic arrays. Only part of it was “magical,” composed of standard spell or elemental runes. The rest were special symbols called “holy seals” or “sacred runes.”

Those symbols weren’t part of the magic system at all—they were marks commonly used by religious practitioners, said to originate from the Eternal Tablets. Their purpose was to communicate with and channel divine power. Arrays drawn with these symbols couldn’t be called “magic arrays” but rather “divine ritual arrays.”

In Gawain’s understanding, divine ritual arrays and magic arrays were completely separate things. Yet this one before him was a fusion of both!

Moreover, this hybrid array seemed extraordinarily complex. Just from what he could see, Gawain identified over twenty groups of control runes and numerous rune structures resembling energy conduits. Such energy conduits were rare in Gondor-era arrays, since their magical devices mostly relied on power from the Deep Blue Well, and rarely tapped into ambient energy, which was considered inefficient. Yet this array in the shadow realm had a vast, intricate energy system…

No matter how strange the array was, its size was limited. As the black mist continued to recede before Gawain, the core area was fully exposed. The moment he saw the heart of the array, his gaze froze.

Defying the gods… devouring the flesh of gods… feasting…

These mad, deranged words flashed through his mind as his eyes fixed on the object.

It was a one-foot square artificial crystal, and at its center was sealed a bizarre piece of biological tissue.

Gawain could only describe it as “bizarre biological tissue” because he couldn’t identify what creature the flesh-like mass came from. It was dark red, with no visible veins or tendons, yet a blood-like substance continuously flowed around it as if alive. Though it might have been sealed in the crystal for a thousand years, it still slowly contracted and writhed…

Like an undying heart.

The truth was almost within reach, but Gawain hesitated to accept the bold conclusion forming in his mind. Yet if the words on the walls of the experimental hall were true, if those mad, absurd manuscripts were genuine, then there was no doubt about what this crystal contained.

In the end, Gawain chose to trust his judgment, recalling the “battlefield communications” recorded on the Eternal Tablet fragments.

The gods are dead. Flesh and blood have fallen to the mortal world. It’s not unimaginable.

If a devout believer or any sane local saw what was inside that crystal, they would likely be struck dumb with shock and fear. But Gawain was different. He only worried that this “divine flesh” might suddenly leap up and splatter him with a bloody mess. Such strange things usually meant great danger. Yet judging by how timid the blood-red sludge and black mist seemed, it looked like this chunk of flesh was the one more afraid of him…

Gawain carefully poked the crystal with the Pathfinder’s Sword. The tissue inside twitched slightly but showed no other change.

In short, it seemed harmless.

Sheathing his sword, Gawain bent down and lifted the one-foot square artificial crystal cube. It was heavy, but not a problem for him. As the crystal left the “magic-divine ritual array” on the ground, the remaining swirling black mist and blood-red sludge vanished almost instantly.

The rune array, now without its core, barely functioned for a few more seconds before the remaining magical crystals dimmed rapidly. In the end, only a complex and mysterious pattern of runes remained—no more strange phenomena.

“What… is that thing?” Amber asked nervously, watching Gawain carry out the large crystal. It was the first time in her life she’d seen something so dazzling yet felt no urge to steal and sell it. “I… I don’t know why, but just looking at it makes my skin crawl!”

“Do you really want to know?” Gawain held the likely divine flesh with a half-smile, glancing at Amber. “With your brain, you probably have some idea already.”

“I…” Amber’s eyes suddenly widened, and she gasped. “You’re not joking, are you?!”

“Legend says there was an ancient god-war, gods fell to the mortal world, and that’s how mortals gained extraordinary powers like magic. So if the gods’ power can fall, why not their flesh and blood?” Gawain smiled. He didn’t reveal what he’d learned from the Eternal Tablet fragments, instead explaining it through the ancient god-war legend. Amber, no matter how eccentric, was a local with a traditional worldview and a devout follower of the Shadow Goddess. Telling her outright that the gods might all be dead and that the beings mortals worship now were who knows what would probably be too much. But the ancient god-war legend was well-known—this explanation was more acceptable.

After all, it was one thing for a few gods to fall in a divine battle, but being wiped out by the Zenith Star Fleet? That was a whole other level…

Seeing Amber nod thoughtfully, Gawain silently resolved: if necessary, he’d use the same explanation with the people “outside” later.

He definitely didn’t want the team he’d painstakingly built up to have their entire worldview shattered because of him…

Even if it had to happen, it should be a gradual process, step by step.

(End of chapter)